The Transfer Window - The Verdict.

[bobdylan]

I think it's pertinent to take into account the rehabilitation of injured players, the bomb squad and the emergence of Grealish. Although not new players, they affected the signings we had to make.

So, in addition to the squad that didn't really struggle until after the Chelsea game we have:

Given
Hutton
Senderos
Cissokho
Okore
Richardson
N'Zogbia
Cole
Grealish
Sanchez

That's ten who are newly available to pick from, quite a turnover in a 25-man squad. A rose-tinted (perhaps) 7/10 from me, with one point included for not selling Vlaar and Delph.

Is Okore 'available to pick from' ?

I thought that he was injured again.

Also, what about the players who aren't available through injury - Kozak and Benteke, for whom we don't even have return dates?

They missed large chunks of last season as well though and will hopefully be available for more of this season than last.

[sirlordbaltimore]

5/10

[robbo1874]

Brilliant window, when you sit back and remember where we are as a club, we've done such good business.
With a mix of new signings, bringing people back and people getting fit, we've added 8 players to the squad. And most of them have improved the squad and we still have Benteke and Kozak to come back.
Also Grealish looks like he will step up to the mark this year, so we've a lot more to be optimistic about this season.
Hutton
N'Zogbia
Cissoko
Senderos
Given
Bent
Cole
Sanchez

Well Done Lambert.

if Gardner does well at Brighton, he might also be in the midfield mix for the second half of the season. I haven't seen grealish yet, but by all accounts he could well be the creative spark we knew we needed but were unable to sign. Let's hope he grabs his chance and makes the best of it.

As for the other incoming and outgoing players- only really would have kept hold of albrighton and not really unhappy with how any of the new boys seem to be doing. Cole will get his chance to prove if he's still got the skills and desire from time to time this season.

Okore Benteke and Kozak coming back will be like having 3 new signings- all three well rated with Benteke the obvious stand out.

Add to this the players already in the side seem to be a significant improvement over last season interms of early results and when you factor in our up for sale circumstances (we would never be splashing big money this window) then I am fairly pleased with how it seems to have panned out.

Let's also not forget the likes of Hutton and given returning to the fold and perhaps potentially the most significant addition off the field in keane who let's face it was always a gamble- would've been hugely more so if he'd been brought in to replace lambert- and I think we've done better than ok considering the money spent.

[DaveD]

Ignoring the return of the bomb squad and injuries.

Senderos and Cissokho were good signings and are clearly much better than the men they replaced.
Richardson is a solid pro at this level and his link-up play might be a key ingredient in our improving style of football this season.
Sanchez is a bit of a punt, but provided he can adapt to the pace of English football, he has all the attributes to do just fine.
Cole was clearly a total spin of the wheel. High risk, high payoff. I'd hope we have appearance clauses in his contract to mitigate that.

Given the funds available, I'd say this is Lambert's best transfer window so far in terms of bang for buck, and most importantly, he's addressed the key areas of weakness.

8/10 for Lambert.

5/10 for what Aston Villa Football Club should be aiming for.

[robbo1874]

If the Cleverly deal comes through on loan well done to the Villa for playing hardball and not bowing to his demands.

On loan for a season, no silly transfer fee, can't be bad can it?

how arsed will he be though if he knows it's just a season on loan?

If he didn't really want to come here in the first place, I mean.

[olaftab]

SSN last night had us down for 7 players in. I can only think of Senderos, Cissokho, Richardson, Cole and Sanchez. So who are the other two?

[DaveD]

SSN last night had us down for 7 players in. I can only think of Senderos, Cissokho, Richardson, Cole and Sanchez. So who are the other two?

Couple of Southampton youngsters.

[Dave]

SSN last night had us down for 7 players in. I can only think of Senderos, Cissokho, Richardson, Cole and Sanchez. So who are the other two?

The two youth players from Southampton probably.

[not3bad]

If the Cleverly deal comes through on loan well done to the Villa for playing hardball and not bowing to his demands.

On loan for a season, no silly transfer fee, can't be bad can it?

how arsed will he be though if he knows it's just a season on loan?

Hopefully Mr Keane will know how to motivate him.

[Boz]

I can't help feeling we'd be better off telling him to do one if we really were unhappy with the way he handled it.

I agree, he's a knobber, let him sit on the bench at ManUre and see his contract out. As a young guy who was in the England set up with Gerrard and Lampard eventually out of the way it's a great opportunity for young midfielders, but not for money chasers like not so Cleverley.

Offered Fabian a great chance though.

[Marton]

Overall I think its been wise to deal with the inflated wagebill.
To be honest...accomplishing that while still staying up has been Lamberts only success.

In every window though there has been mistakes that could have been avoided with scouting and better internal communication,
Last year the ones that stand out is Luna and Tonev, and Helenious to a lesser extent though he really never got much of a chance.

This year I think its Cole. He is over the hill, unmotivated and even unfit. The team needed experience and but in as way that is offered by Richardson. He is limited but he still has that desire to win and is prepared to work hard to make it happen. Cole just doesn't and have not for years.

Overall its not bad (6/10)  though we could have made another gamble and signed Guidetti who was there for the taking. Cheap but with a huge potential.

[ozzjim]

Guidetti looked like Ben Arfa's fat cousin last season at Stoke though.

Cole I am not going to write off. He is reletively cheap (25k a week?) and I still think in home games might have the key to the door if it is tight. If he creates 3-4 winners this season, I reckon that would have been worth the gamble alone. He may not do it, but it was a gamble worth taking.

Getting Cleverley on loan probably nudges it to a 6 for me.

I have been genuinely surprised by how decent a footballer Richardson is, and how hard he works and how much he wants to get beyond the front men from central midfield.

[pauliewalnuts]

I think it's pertinent to take into account the rehabilitation of injured players, the bomb squad and the emergence of Grealish. Although not new players, they affected the signings we had to make.

So, in addition to the squad that didn't really struggle until after the Chelsea game we have:

Given
Hutton
Senderos
Cissokho
Okore
Richardson
N'Zogbia
Cole
Grealish
Sanchez

That's ten who are newly available to pick from, quite a turnover in a 25-man squad. A rose-tinted (perhaps) 7/10 from me, with one point included for not selling Vlaar and Delph.

Is Okore 'available to pick from' ?

I thought that he was injured again.

Also, what about the players who aren't available through injury - Kozak and Benteke, for whom we don't even have return dates?

They missed large chunks of last season as well though and will hopefully be available for more of this season than last.

They're both going to be out for a while yet, so they're already missing a decent chunk of this season, too.

Benteke played almost every match until the Chelsea game Percy referred to, as well. After he came back from injury it took him a while to start showing his best again. This time, he's had a much worse injury so it'll probably take him longer. Kozak's injury is a bad one, too.

I think we need to realise they're not going to come back and instantly be at their best after bad injuries.

[bobdylan]

I think it's pertinent to take into account the rehabilitation of injured players, the bomb squad and the emergence of Grealish. Although not new players, they affected the signings we had to make.

So, in addition to the squad that didn't really struggle until after the Chelsea game we have:

Given
Hutton
Senderos
Cissokho
Okore
Richardson
N'Zogbia
Cole
Grealish
Sanchez

That's ten who are newly available to pick from, quite a turnover in a 25-man squad. A rose-tinted (perhaps) 7/10 from me, with one point included for not selling Vlaar and Delph.

Is Okore 'available to pick from' ?

I thought that he was injured again.

Also, what about the players who aren't available through injury - Kozak and Benteke, for whom we don't even have return dates?

They missed large chunks of last season as well though and will hopefully be available for more of this season than last.

They're both going to be out for a while yet, so they're already missing a decent chunk of this season, too.

Benteke played almost every match until the Chelsea game Percy referred to, as well.

I thought he missed about a month early season also.

[pauliewalnuts]

I think it's pertinent to take into account the rehabilitation of injured players, the bomb squad and the emergence of Grealish. Although not new players, they affected the signings we had to make.

So, in addition to the squad that didn't really struggle until after the Chelsea game we have:

Given
Hutton
Senderos
Cissokho
Okore
Richardson
N'Zogbia
Cole
Grealish
Sanchez

That's ten who are newly available to pick from, quite a turnover in a 25-man squad. A rose-tinted (perhaps) 7/10 from me, with one point included for not selling Vlaar and Delph.

Is Okore 'available to pick from' ?

I thought that he was injured again.

Also, what about the players who aren't available through injury - Kozak and Benteke, for whom we don't even have return dates?

They missed large chunks of last season as well though and will hopefully be available for more of this season than last.

They're both going to be out for a while yet, so they're already missing a decent chunk of this season, too.

Benteke played almost every match until the Chelsea game Percy referred to, as well.

I thought he missed about a month early season also.

He did - hence the "almost". Chelsea was our 29th league match, Benteke played in 24 of them up to that point.

I think it's fair to say it'll take him a while to get back up to anything like his best once he's back.

Not seen much mention of Kozak of late. I wonder what's going on there.